Supertransposing piano



2 Sheets-Sheet 1 E. W. BACHMEYER Feb. 9 1926.

EWBachmeyeP Feb. 9 1926. 1,572,841

EHW.BAGHMEYER SUFERTRANS POS ING PIANO EWBachmeycr'.

Patented Feb. 9, 1926.

UNITED STATES ENGELBER'I W. BACHMEYER, OF HAWLEY, PENNSYLVANIA.

SUPEETRANSPGSII-IG PIANO.

Application filcd January 23, 1922.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that ENGELBERT lV. BACH- MEYER, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hawley, in the county of lVayne and State of Pennsylvan a, has invented certain new and useful Improvements in Supertransposing Pianos, of wlrch the following is a specification.

This invention has relation to certain new and useful improvements in transposing mechanism for keyboard musical instruments and has for its primary object the provision of a movable keyboard adapted for pianos and the like to automatically shift the position of the keys With respect to the key operating mechanism of the instrument and thereby provlde for automatic transposition of musical selections played on the instrument.

The invention has for another object the provision of a transposing mechanism of the character stated which will be of simple and inexpensive construction and operation as well as h ghly efficient in use and which Will provide for even and regular movement of the keyboard and proper adjustment thereof when changing from one key to another.

The invention has for a further object the provision of a tansposing mechanism of the character stated which may be incorporated in the piano structures or the like without material alterations thereof so that the keyboard may be readily moved to the proper posit'on for playing the instrument in any key desired.

A still further object of the invention resides in the provision of a transposing mechanism of the character set forth in which tilting or shifting of the keyboard will be prevented by providing proper guiding means therefor without interfering with easy adjustment of the keyboard to its various positions by the simple operation of adjusting members projecting through the piano casing at points conven ent to the performer, provision being made without material alteration of the piano structure or the casing structure for insertion or removal of the adjustable keyboard as well as movement of the latter to its various positions together ith the indicating member to ride over the indicator scale and thereby indicate the key for which the keyboard is set.

lVith the foregoing and other objects in view as will appear as the description proc-eeds, the invention consists in the novel Serial No. 531,218.

construction, combination and arrangement of cooperating elements as hereinafter more specifically se; forth, pointed out in the claims and shown in the accompanying drawings forn'iing a part of the present application and in which Figure l is an elevation of the conventional form of p ano with my invention applied thereto, parts being broken away for the sake of clearness.

Figure 2 is a vertical section through the piano equipped with the invention, this View be ng taken transversely through the instrument.

Figure 3 is an enlarged detail fragmentary section through a portion of the keyboard section.-

Figure 4i is an enlarged fragmentary front elevation of the keyboard. and the adjacent portions of the piano frame.

Figure 5 is an enlarged vertical longitudinal section through a portion of the keyboard structure.

Figure 6 is a vertical transverse section to the keyboard structure, the keys and the supporting member for the same being omitted from this view.

Figure 7 is a detailed perspective view, with parts broken away and parts in section, showing the mounting of one of the guide members 10 on the piano casYng.

Referring more in detail to the drawings in \vnich similar reference characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views, 1 indicates in general the piano casing havng the usual hinged key board cover 2 and a conventional form of vertical string striking mechanism 3, including the vertical key operated pins 4. to be engaged and operated by the keys 5 of he piano keyboard. The inner ends of the keys 5 which are adapted to cooperate with the operating pins or abstracts 4: are normally supported in such a manner as to permit sufficient clearance between the abstracts and the keys whereby the latter may be moved transversely with respect to the abstracts without any possibility of injuring he latter. These keys 5 are pivoted intermediate their ends as shown at 6, on the key sup 'iorting strip 7 mounted on and extending longitudinally of the keyboard base member 8, as shown clearly in Figs. 2 and 3 of the drawings. The structure thus far described is similar to the conventional structure of keyboard instruments such as pianos and may also be found in player pianos, as will be understood by parties familiar with this art.

The keyboard base member 8 has its longitudinal edge portions slightly enlarged and rounded, as shown at 9, so as to slide in the guide members 10 of arcuate form in cross section. The guide members 10 extend practically the entire length of the piano casing and are suitably mounted so as to retain the keyboard base member 8 in horizontal position and prevent tiltiug or shifting thereof during adjustment of the keyboard structure for playing pieces on the instrument in various keys. The keyboard base member 8 has a pair of depending side flanges 11 near its longitudinal edge portions which rest upon and ride on the bottom or horizontal member 12 of the stationary guide means located beneath the keyboard base member 8, as shown clearly in Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings, as well as Fig. 2. The frame also includes upstanding forward and rear or longitudinal members 18 which enclose the greater portion of the flanges 11 and rest slightly against the outer faces of the flanges 11. The track members 1a are secured to the inner side faces of the flanges 11 by suitable securing members 15, as shown clearly in Figs. 5 and 6 of the drawings. These track members let also ride upon the bottom member 12 of the guide frame and have their upper faces provided with rack portions 16 for engagement by the operating or adjusting wheels 17, as shown in Figs. 5 and 6 and also Fig. 2 of the drawings. The wheels 17 are mounted on the rotatable adjusting rods 18 extended transversely through the upstanding flanges 13 of the supporting and guiding frame and having hearings in the latter. These adusting rods 18 also extend through elongated longitudinal slots 19 in the depend ing side flanges 11 of the keyboard base member 8. The keyboard base member 8 is also provided in its under face with grooves 20 to accommodate the operating or adjusting wheels 17 and prevent the same from raising the keyboard base member 8 with the keys 5 during adjustment of the keyboard. The adjusting rods 18 extend through the front member 21 of the piano casing 1, at suitable points along said member 21 and have knobs or head members 22 mounted on their outer ends, whereby the rods 18 may be readily rotated in either direction to revolve the rods 18 and adjust the keyboard longitudinally of the piano for playing pieces in the desired key on the instrument.

In order to indicate to the operator the position at which the keyboard is adjusted, an upstanding indicating member 23 is carried by the keyboard base member 8 and projects upwardly between two of the keys 5, suitable slots or recesses 2 1 being provided in the opposed sides of the keys 5 to accommodate the indicating member 23, as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. This indicating mei ber 23 should be so positioned that the upper end thereof projecting above the keys may pass back and forth opposite the indicator strip 25 secured upon one wall of the recess 26 formed in the piano casing above the keyboard, for this purpose. The indicator strip 25 may have the symbols printed thereon to indicate the various keys in which pieces may be rendered on the instrument. The position of the indicator member 23 with respect to the indicator strip 25 will readily show the position at which the keyboard is set and this position may be changed, if desired, by proper operation of the rods 18 by means of the slots 22, as previously stated. It is also to be underrod that a suitable sight opening 27 must U6 provided in the piano casing 1 opposite the indicator strip 25 so that the indicator mechanism may be readily seen by the performer.

It is believed that the complete construction and operation of this transposing mechanism may now be readily understood and it will be evident that when the keyboard structure is adjusted in any of its various positions, the keys 5 will serve to operate the vertical pins st of the string striking mechanism resting upon or depending to the respective keys. It is therefore evident that no matter what position the keyboard may occupy, any piece may be played by the operator in the key in which it is written and automatically transposed to the key desired, owing to the position of the keyboard. For instance, when it is desired to transpose the piece a full tone or two keys lower, the key C will serve to operate the mechanism for sounding B flat or A sharp below the key and the other keys will also serve to cause the notes a full tone below the key to be sounded when the keys are operated. If it is desired to transpose the selection to a higher key, the keyboard is adjusted in the opposite direction one notch or one tooth of the wheels 17 for each half tone change desired. It is believed the complete structure may now be understood without further description. It may be stated, however, that provision may be made for insertion of the keyboard structure described and forming the subject matter of this invention from the front of the piano casing or from one end thereof, owing to the structure of the piano mechanism and the piano frame or casing.

\Vhile the preferred embodiment of the invention has been shown and described, it is to be understood that minor changes in the details of construction and arrangement of parts may be resorted to within the scope of what is claimed without departing from the spirit of the invention.

What I claim is 1. A transposing mechanism for keyboard instruments comprising a keyboard includ ing a base member, a supporting member extended longitudinally on said base member, keys independently mounted on said supporting member, a guide frame for said ase member, members depending from said base member into said guide frame, side edge guide members for said base member, rack members carried by said depending aembers of the base member, and means for operation upon said rack members to adjust the keyboard base member and keys on said guide frame and automatically transposing from one key to another for rendering musical selections upon the instrument.

2. An automatic transposing mechanism for keyboard instruments comprising a keyboard structure including a base member, a supporting member extended longitudinally upon said base member, keys independently mounted on said supporting member and an indicator carried by said base member and extending upwardly between certain of said keys, in combination with an indicator scale mounted on the instrument, rack members carried by said base member, a stationary guide frame, said rack members riding in said stationary guide frame, and means eX- tending through the casing of said instrument and adapted for operation upon said rack members to adjust the keyboard structure longitudinally and move the indicator member over the indicator scale to adjust the keyboard structure for rendering musical selections upon the instrument in various keys while playing in only one key and indicating the key to which the selection has been transposed.

3. An automatic transposing mechanism for av keyboard instrument comprising a keyboard structure adjustable beneath the string striking mechanism and including a base member and keys mounted independently above said base member, a guide frame beneath said face member, flanges depending from said base member and disposed in said guide frame, said flanges being provided with elongated slots, adjusting members rotatably mounted in said guide frame and extending through the slots of said flanges, said adjusting members being adapted upon each operation to shift the keyboard structure a distance equal to the width of one of the keys and thereby place the keyboard for transposing into a different key one half a note higher or lower than the keyin which the selection is to be played, and means in association with the front and rear edges of said base member for guiding the movement of the latter.

at. An automatic transposing mechanism for a keyboard instrument comprising a keyboard structure including a base member and spaced depending flanges carried by said base member, rack members carried by said depending flanges, a guide frame for said base member, operating members eX- tending through said flanges and through the guide frame and projecting through the casing of the instrument near either end thereof, and means carried by said operating members for cooperation with the rack members to shift the keyboard structure in the guide frame in either direction to transpose automatically fr 111 one key to another so that a selection played in a selected key according to the fingering on the keyboard may be rendered in any other key desired, each complete operation of the operating members serving to shift the keyboard a predetern'iined number of spaces and change the keyboard to as many different positions for playing the selection in the key desired, each movement of the keyboard structure serving to change the same to position for playing in a different key, and indicating means carried by said base board and adapted to extend through slots in certain of said keys for cooperation with an indicating scale mounted on said instrument.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

ENGELBER'I V. BACHMEYER. 

